The Equus Attaché Case

Equus Attache represents a thread leading back to a more elegant time. The Cedar framed Attache was once ubiquitous, now the construction techniques are nearly a lost art, kept alive by only a few firms and craftsmen in the world. We can tailor the interior of your case to your precise requirements, from false bottoms to transporting watches or jewels or anything else you require. Our traditional Attachés represent a true luxury in an age where luxury is often defined only by a logo and price tag - handmade, hand stitched quality, made to last a lifetime and beyond, made with passion and craftsmanship, not with a machine.

Take a look at our short film below for an insight in to the work of the leather worker, cabinet maker and foundry behind our cases. Shot entirely on 16mm film on location at our Westholme workshops and in Walsall where our brass fittings are cast, we wanted to document the heritage craft skills of our craftspeople and show that truly handmade products still do exist and are still made in England.

All our Attaché Cases come with free delivery, please chose this option when you check out.

Our attaché cases are made using a set of materials we feel fits with the nature of the traditional attache case, and brings our own unique personality to the design. At the heart of the case is a Cedar frame, made using wood from a tree planted to commemorate the wedding of Victoria and Albert in the garden of our family home a mile from the workshop, blown over in a gale, carefully hoarded and allowed to season. The leather is the wonderful Cuir de Russie we are known for, a calf leather tanned and developed in England after the Russian Calf leather that was a major export of pre Revolutionary Russia. The tanning and Birch Oil used for the finishing creates a leather with great personality and distinctive scent and one that was famous for its beauty and longevity. Traditionally used from everything from book binding to bags and cases such as this it has become a workshop favorite due to its strong personality. We line these cases with French Chevre, a beautiful aniline leather whose grain and character compliments the outer Cuir de Russie - an interesting juxtaposition of the intense grain of the outer and the tighter, more refined inner. The Chevre is available in a wide variety of colours and opens up a great opportunity to customise the case to suit the look you'd like. The Brass fittings are made for us by one of the last Brass foundries in England, made in the same way they where a hundred years or more ago.

The finest materials are nothing in themselves, simply a collection of lovely but useless items. What makes a product like this special are the craftsmen behind it, who bring the raw materials together and turn them into a beautiful object. Entirely hand made, each case takes around a week to make, and takes the skills of both a cabinet maker and leatherworker to bring together, the one to produce a perfect wooden carcass, the other to cut, fit and stitch the leather outer to the wooden frame. The crowning glory of the leatherwork is the handle, entirely hand stitched, leather throughout, sculpted to be thick enough to be satisfying and comfortable in the hand without excess bulk, slightly giving to provide comfort in use, and designed to be the tactile interface to a case designed itself to be a tactile pleasure.

The external dimensions of the case are 16 1/2" x 12" x 3 3/4", internally sized to accommodate a 13" or 15" Macbook or similar, plus a generous lid pocket to accommodate papers, notebooks etc. We welcome requests to customise any aspect of the interior of the case, to use alternative leathers for the outer or any bespoke modification you have in mind.